Successful revival of regional meeting in the Baltics

From May 23-25, the EAU Baltic Meeting took place in Vilnius, Lithuania. Over 200 attendants from the Baltics, adjacent countries, and other parts of Europe gathered for a full and scientifically-relevant programme. Chairman of the EAU Regional Office, Prof. Bob Djavan (AT), welcomed the attendants by pointing out that the Baltic scientific community deserves attention.

The EAU Baltic Meeting is the first regional meeting in Northern Europe since the North-Eastern European Meeting (NEEM) was cancelled several years ago. “This meeting is very much driven by the Baltic countries,” Djavan explained. “The quality of the submitted abstracts is impressively high, as is the scientific programme. When I look around I see enthusiastic young people as well as senior urologists, which is one of the most important aims of the Regional Office,” he continued.

Prof. Chris Chapple (GB), EAU General Secretary-Elect, said: “It is a great honour and pleasure to be attending this meeting which provides an important scientific forum for urologists in the three Baltic states to meet and discuss the latest developments in the field of urology. The EAU is extremely honoured to have the privilege of working with the national associations in these three countries to provide this important scientific event and certainly I am very happy to be here in Vilnius.”

Djavan also mentioned he was very pleased with the high attendance of the meeting. “This meeting gives delegates the opportunity to demonstrate their skills and to interact and collaborate with urologists from the region as well as representatives of the EAU Executive Board who have come to Vilnius,” he said. “People can walk up to the Secretary-Elect or the Chairman of the ESU and share ideas or discuss cases. This is simply impossible at the Annual EAU Congress.”

Prof. Felix Jankevicius (LT), Chairman of the EAU Baltic Meeting, reinforced the messages given by Djavan and Chapple by stating that the greatest importance of the EAU Baltic Meeting is to enable urologists from the region to get together and share ideas and experiences. “The meeting offers a fantastic opportunity for young urologists in the region to listen to world-renowned speakers and to talk to them,” he said.

“Moreover, the poster sessions provide a platform for young people to present their work. Getting accepted into the Annual EAU Congress is getting more and more difficult and these regional meetings are therefore an excellent opportunity for young urologists,” Jankevicius concluded.

Djavan looked back on a very successful year for the Regional Office, which also included the Central European Meeting and the South-Eastern European Meeting. “I am pleased and humbled by the support we have gotten from all the urological societies in the regional countries. Without their enthusiasm, scientific strength, input, and participation this would not have been possible. I am very satisfied with the boost the Regional Office has gotten in this last year. Our goal of reaching young urologists and offering them a platform to present their work has proven to be very successful.”